Movies That Killed Careers

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by JediJones, Apr 14, 2021.

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  1. Panther

    Panther Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Michael J. Fox is/was a seriously great actor. I rate him very, very highly.

    I maintain his definitive and greatest performance was in Bright Lights, Big City.
     
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  2. Jmac1979

    Jmac1979 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    I wouldn't put Guttenberg in the same category though. Danson and Selleck were popular tv stars who did some movies during summer hiatus season, but Guttenberg was a bonafide star when I was a kid, at least for a couple years. It felt like he and Hanks were interchangeable there for a few years, but Hanks had a better pick of scripts as well as successfully proving himself a dramatic actor while Guttenberg seemed to.lose his touch after 1987 or so, but I'd say Guttenberg was definitely a "movie star" at least from around 1984-1987 or so but not being able to rebrand himself like Tom Hanks and Michael Keaton did
     
  3. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I never viewed Guttenberg as a "movie star" and he wasn't on Hanks' level after 1984.

    SG's biggest hits were ensemble films. I guess he was technically the lead for "Police Academy" but he was still part of a big cast - it wasn't a project that allowed him to stand out.

    Same for "Short Circuit". Ensemble cast and people only remember the robot! :D

    On the other hand, Hanks was the clear lead for "Splash" and "Bachelor Party".

    Those rocketed him to top-level fame, whereas SG always was B or C level.

    SG had a decent career as a movie actor, but he was never even as famous as his "3 Men" co-stars. Sure, they were famous for TV and not movies, but SG was always kinda just "that innocuous dude" in movies and never a real star.

    Whereas Hanks became a true star in 1984...
     
  4. spencer1

    spencer1 Great Western Forum Resident

    The three packs of cigarettes a day and a lifetime of heavy drinking might have been more to blame.
    In "Mogambo" John Ford had to shoot around Gable's shakes.
     
  5. Honey Bunches of Sadness

    Honey Bunches of Sadness Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Good call. Looking at his filmography on Rotten Tomatoes, with the exception of Mask (1985), he never made another film which was simultaneously well-reviewed and did notable box office. (Wikipedia says Mask made $48MM on a $7.5MM budget.)
     
  6. Honey Bunches of Sadness

    Honey Bunches of Sadness Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Well done all the way around. But the story is oh so slimy....
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2021
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  7. Honey Bunches of Sadness

    Honey Bunches of Sadness Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Hey, buddy, how about a spoiler alert? It's only been .... (checks calendar) ..... 31 years. Some of us haven't gotten to this one yet!

    PS: Yeah, Another 48 Hours was terrible, and a huge letdown.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2021
  8. a customer

    a customer Forum Resident

    Location:
    virginia
    Looking back Brando made some iconic films in the 50s. He seemed to be playing the same type of character .
    The godfather allowed him to demand lots of money while making as many lame films as he did in the 60s.

    I have changed my opinion of the greatness of Brando.
     
  9. mcnpauls

    mcnpauls Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    The documentary about the 90s "The Island of Dr Moreau" is one of the best, and most entertaining, I have ever seen about the making of a film, possibly the very best, actually. Kilmer was clearly a disgrace and Brando just seemed to be having a mad, private joke to himself the whole time, but they really harmed some other people's careers by doing so, which is far from funny.

    Having said that, I feel the film would always have been bad, even if original director/co-writer Richard Stanley had been allowed to finish it.
     
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  10. Holerbot6000

    Holerbot6000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I tend to agree. I'm a big fan of Richard Stanley's movies and I know this was a passion project for him but even he could see that the deck was slowly being stacked against him. I think the only thing he could have done to salvage it was when Brando showed up as the giant albino guru, just to completely go with it. There are hints at where that might have gone, like the little duet Brando did with the lizard man. I always wonder if that was the inspiration for Mini-Me. Somebody ask Mike Meyers.
     
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  11. Randall DeBouvre

    Randall DeBouvre forum resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    alex walker directed two eccentric, critically acclaimed films-repo man and sid and nancy. then he made two bombs-straight to hell and walker-and he was never asked to do another major studio film again.
     
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  12. Randall DeBouvre

    Randall DeBouvre forum resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    mike meyers - love guru
     
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  13. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    I think you mean Alex Cox- I don't get why he flamed out so quickly yet someone like Guy Ritchie keeps on working
     
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  14. Randall DeBouvre

    Randall DeBouvre forum resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    yeah alex cox sorry.
     
  15. Honey Bunches of Sadness

    Honey Bunches of Sadness Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Repo Man and Sid & Nancy are both good, but weren't exactly mainstream films. His career wasn't trending toward being a major studio director even before Walker.

    That would be Alex Cox, by the way. [ETA: @jupiter8 beat me to it.]
     
  16. Honey Bunches of Sadness

    Honey Bunches of Sadness Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Good call. While he's had small roles in Inglourious Basterds and Bohemian Rhapsody, his career as a leading actor opening films appears to be over.
     
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  17. Honey Bunches of Sadness

    Honey Bunches of Sadness Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    The Sherlock Holmes films and Aladdin made a ton of money. The Gentlemen and Wrath of Man were both profitable.
     
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  18. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Wasn't that by choice, though?

    I thought Myers just decided he didn't want to make "lead role" movies after that.

    Clearly he'd get $$$ to make a fourth Austin Powers if he felt like it.

    Of course, he continued with the Shrek movies, so it's not like he vanished! :)
     
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  19. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia

    her keeps stating a 4th Austin powers is going to be made too
     
  20. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    I’m going to disagree with you on Steve Gutenberg. He was clearly the lead star and face of the Police Academy movies. He’s also the reason I saw Short Circuit and they cast him in 3 Men because he did have marquee appeal/value. Cocoon was a good role for him too. I agree that he was never at Tom Hanks level but I don’t think he tried to be. He ran his course and did fine. He ultimately made too many sequels (especially Police Academy) which I feel burnt his appeal plus the failure of High Spirits.
     
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  21. Hanglow

    Hanglow Forum Resident

    Location:
    Saratoga New York
    Well there is a Police Academy 8 in the works with SG on board ...hopefully it will do better than PA "Mission to Moscow"

    [​IMG]
     
  22. MidnightRocks

    MidnightRocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    I thought he also gained a reputation for being extremely difficult which didn't help.
     
  23. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    SG was the lead in the "Police Academy" movies, but they didn't revolve around his character in the same way stuff like "Splash", "Big" or even "Bachelor Party" did.

    The "Academy" movies were more ensemble flicks. I mean, look at the artwork for the 1st 4 movies: SG is in there, but he's just mushed in with a bunch of other people:

    [​IMG]

    The robot was the star of "Short Circuit", and SG was just support in "Cocoon", as the old folks were the stars.

    SG had some marquee value, but not as an actor who could draw audiences in a real way. He was likable and engaging in an inoffensive way - ie, he wasn't gonna turn off anyone.

    They played it safe with the leads for "3 Men" and opted for 3 innocuous, generally likable, harmless guys who wouldn't hurt the movie.
     
  24. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Yeah, that's true... but that's not a problem when your movies are making big bucks!

    "He/she is difficult" only becomes an impediment when the box office falters! :D
     
  25. Honey Bunches of Sadness

    Honey Bunches of Sadness Forum Resident

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    That seems very plausible. He must be richer than God by this point.
     
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